In response to the potential collapse of large financial institutions in 2007, the U.S. government committed trillions of dollars to loans, asset purchases, guarantees and direct spending in order to provide fiscal stimulus, expansionary monetary policy and bailouts of various private financial institutions. One outcome of the government's response was the proposal to enact into law the Volcker Rule, which prohibited banks from engaging in proprietary trading, or trading for their own - not their clients' - benefit. This case examines the Volcker Rule and the call for greater financial regulation.
Originally Published in: Minor, D., & Persico, N. (2012). The Volcker Rule: Financial Crisis, Bailouts, and the Need for Financial Regulation. 5-412-753. Evanston, IL: Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.